Port of Hamburg Slashes 2015 Volume Forecasts on China, Russia

HAMBURG, Aug 17 (Reuters) – The Port of Hamburg Marketing Association has slashed its forecast for container volumes at Hamburg’s port, a hub for japanese European commerce, resulting from weakening progress in China and shrinking commerce with Russia.

The affiliation mentioned on Monday it now expects container volumes to fall 7 % to 9 million TEUs (twenty-foot equal unit containers) this 12 months, in contrast with a earlier forecast for 3 % progress to 10 million TEUs.

China is by far the largest commerce companion for the Hamburg port, accounting for nearly 3 million TEUs in 2014. Russia is the second largest with 0.66 million TEUs in 2014.

In the primary half of 2015, container quantity at Hamburg’s port, the place logistics corporations reminiscent of HHLA, Eurogate and Buss function terminals, fell 7 % to 4.5 million TEUs.

Shipments to and from China by container fell 11 % in the course of the interval.

China’s manufacturing unit exercise shrank in July on the quickest fee in two years, the nation’s inventory markets have slumped 30 % since mid-June and progress might quickly fall beneath 7 % for the primary time since early 2009.

Hamburg port’s container site visitors with Russia was down by greater than a 3rd, hit by Western sanctions on Russia and Russia’s retaliatory ban on meals imports. (Reporting by Jan Schwartz; writing by Maria Sheahan; enhancing by David Clarke)

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